This book/series has come highly recommended by multiple people over the years and when I saw that my library had it on digital audio I thought I'd take the chance with it.

The Good Stuff: Wilson's world building, I believe, is first class in this book. I never felt bombarded with a giant info dump issue because she incorporated it so well into the story that it felt natural. The romance, although relying on a take on the "Fated Mate" trope, was well played out and has an Urban Fantasy feel to it as this is only the beginning of the H/h's story. Their love should develop nicely over the course of several books and we weren't completely whammied by insta-love.

The Good stuff about Listening vs. Reading: Being more of a Fantasy than I'm used to, I liked the fact that someone else was reading the potentially difficult names of the characters and places. I know for sure I'd have stumbled and bumbled my way through them and it would have pulled me out of the story continuously.

The Bad Stuff: No conclusions. Absolutely nothing was concluded. Everything from their courtship to who is trying to harm Ellie is left dangling at the end of the book. To be truthful, the ending felt so abrupt I double checked my kindle to see if I missed downloading one of the audio files. But nope, it really does end with no closure on anything. Another thing that was a bit of a downer was that after finishing the book, I'm still am not sure what a Tairen Soul looks like. It's some sort of shapeshifter and as near as I can tell it's a huge animal with a cat like head, deadly snake venom, giant bat wings with a sharp claw at the joint of the wings, and a long dragon like spiked tail. At least that is what I think it said.

The Bad Stuff about the Audio: Although Stephanie Riggio did an adequate job, I hated her voice for Ellysetta. She sounded like a whiny child and I had a hard time accepting her as a love interest for a Fey King who is well over a millennia old.

In a Nutshell: I would rate the book itself a 4 but the unfortunate voice of Ellie on audio brought the rating down to 3. My library has the next book in audio also but read by a different narrator so I'm going to pick it up soon because I have issues with all those dangly bits mocking me. ( )

Rainier vel'En Daris Feyreisen, the Tairen Soul, King of the Fading Lands, and Defender of the Fey has got to do something to save his people. There is only one fertile female Tairen, and her offspring are dying inside their eggs. His people are dying, his land is barren, and there is nothing he can do about it. Desperate for a cure, Rain seeks out one of the more powerful Fey objects, a magical crystal called the Eye of Truth. After punishing him for having the audacity to seek answers from such a holy object, the Eye tells Rain that she salvation of his people and himself lies in a land called Celieria and shows him the image of a red-haired, green-eyed girl. Though he hates that cursed land since it reminds him of love lost and battles fought long ago, Rain decides to accompany Marissya, the only remaining female Fey, on her trip to Celieria in the hopes of finding the girl and saving his people.

this is basically a romantic fantasy, much more relationship oriented than most fantasy, but it is too deeply steeped in the traditions and worldbuilding of fantasy for anyone to label it as purely romance with a few fantastic elements. Make no mistake about that. The whole plot is rife with mages, magical powers, non-human races, flying venemous fire-breathing dragon-cats, and is set in a world other than our own. It's fantasy, albeit one a bit heavy on the romance.

Ellysetta Baristani is the peasant daughter of a woodcarver in Celieria. She is not the biological child of this family, but they found her in the woods and raised her as their own. Ellie has never felt that she was anything but a full member of the Baristani family, even though there is a darkness inside her that she struggles to contain. When it is learned that the Tairen Soul is coming to Celieria, Ellie's younger twin sisters ask her to accompany them to the ceremony. No one has seen the King of the Fey in more than a thousand years, and Ellie acquiesces to her sister's demands. In the crowded mass of people gathered to see the visiting Fey, one of Ellie's sisters is injured. When she kisses her sister's wound to make it better, the spark of magic between them calls the Tairen Soul from the sky and changes Ellie's life forever.

The only way I can sum it up is to say that this book is insanely fun. ( )

The Tairen Soul Series is an all-consuming, mind blowing, epic love/adventure/fantasy/ book. A must read on my list. After reading the Hunger Games, I was trying hard to find a book that could top it... it took me forever but I did it and this series is now my absolute favorite, it not only outshone the Hunger Games and Twilight but Harry Potter too and I have yet to find a anything that tops it. This book has everything, love, passion, action, adventure, edge of your eat suspense, sadness, war, deception, twists,... I can go on.

There are some erotic scenes spaced evenly throughout the book but please don't let that hinder your decision because you'll be missing out. It also has a darker, edgier themes which is a refreshing relief from some of the fluffy love movies I've seen lately.

The next thing you read should be this, you won't be disappointed. I went through all 5 books in 2 weeks, I just could never put the books down.

4.5 stars I was amazed how much I liked this book. I almost did not read it based on the back cover, it sounded too sci-fi for my taste. What I found was a wonderful paranormal shifter/fae/mage fantasy romance, filled with very real and interesting characters. An Alpha male hero with control issues and a broken heart. He is ancient and a major part of a horrible history of this world. He has been alone for decades. His name is Rain, he is their king. He reminds me of the Ilona Andrews character Curran. She is an Alpha woman who has been persecuted for not being the normal girl of the village. Her soul calls to him unknowingly in a moment of fear and anger and he answers. She has had dreams all her life of this man, but why ? Her past is a secret she was found as a small child along the side of the road. he name Ellysetta, she is beautiful, tall and mysterious.The world is in great danger evil mages are getting stronger,Rain can sense it. The villagers doubt him, they want proof. he only wants to get his soul mate and get out of there, history makes him want to hide her away. She is not one to shy away though.I loved the world building and the strength of the characters written into this book. I could read it many times and keep finding new details to enjoy. The writing was so fluid I felt I was transported to the world with them. (Exactly what I was looking for in a book) I am going to rush out and get the rest of the series. ( )

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A simple woodcarver's daughter finds her dreams of adventure and romance coming true when Tairen Soul, a powerful fey from the Fading Lands, claims her as his truemate, plunging her into a dangerous realm of passion, evil, magic, and love.

(summary from another edition)

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C. L. Wilson is a LibraryThing Author, an author who lists their personal library on LibraryThing.